Fire-ready work and insurance discounts in California

Fire-ready work protects a home, and in California some of it can also lower what you pay for insurance. The California Department of Insurance runs a program called Safer from Wildfires that lists the actions it counts. This guide walks through the list, what the program says about discounts, and how a new ADU fits in.

What Safer from Wildfires is

Safer from Wildfires was created by an interagency partnership between Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara and the emergency response and readiness agencies in Governor Gavin Newsom's administration. The Department of Insurance describes it as a ground-up approach to wildfire resilience with three layers of protection: the structure, the immediate surroundings and the community.

The program page links to the full text of the Safer from Wildfires insurance regulation. That regulation, not this guide, sets what insurers have to do.

The actions for the home itself

These are the structure actions as the Department of Insurance lists them:

• A Class A fire-rated roof. Most roofs qualify; wood shake shingles do not. The Office of the State Fire Marshal keeps a list of tested and approved materials.
• An ember-resistant zone. Clear greenery and swap wood chips for stone or decomposed granite within 5 ft of the home. Replace wood fencing attached to the home with metal.
• Ember- and fire-resistant vents. Cover exterior vents with noncombustible, corrosion-resistant metal mesh with openings of 1/16 to 1/8 in, which keeps wind-blown embers out.
• A noncombustible base on the walls. Keep the bottom 6 in of exterior walls noncombustible, measured from the ground and from any attached horizontal surface such as a deck. Brick, stone, fiber-cement siding and concrete qualify.
• Enclosed eaves. Install soffits, preferably of noncombustible or ignition-resistant materials.
• Upgraded windows. Multi-pane glass, or added shutters.
• Clear under decks. Remove plants, weeds and debris under decks. Concrete, gravel or bare soil is fine.
• Outbuildings moved away. Remove combustible sheds and other outbuildings to at least 30 ft from the home. The page lists sheds, gazebos, ADUs, covered open structures with solid roofs, dog houses and playhouses.

The actions around the home and in the neighborhood

For the immediate surroundings, the program asks you to meet state and local defensible space laws: trim trees and clear brush and debris from the yard. Your city or county fire department sets the distances. In the City of Los Angeles and unincorporated LA County, see brush clearance.

For the community, two programs count:

• Firewise USA. A neighborhood of 8 to 2,500 homes creates an action plan. Firewise USA is sponsored by the National Fire Protection Association.
• Fire Risk Reduction Communities. Cities, counties and local districts in a state responsibility area or a very high fire hazard zone can be certified by the California Board of Forestry and Fire Protection.

Ask your neighborhood association or fire department whether yours is one.

What the program says about discounts

The Department of Insurance says every action under Safer from Wildfires qualifies you for an insurance discount, and that by doing more you can save more. Its page does not say how large a discount is, which policies it applies to, or how to document the work. Those details sit in the regulation and with your insurer.

So treat the list as a guide to which work counts, not a promise about price. A discount is not a quote, and no list can say whether an insurer will offer or renew a policy on a given home. Ask your insurer or a licensed agent:

1. Which Safer from Wildfires actions it already has on file for your home.
2. How it wants each action shown: photos, receipts, a contractor's letter or an inspection.
3. Whether a community Firewise USA site or Fire Risk Reduction Community applies to your address.
4. How it treats a detached ADU or other building on the property.

If no insurer will cover your home, the California FAIR Plan is the state's insurer of last resort. See wildfire insurance in California for how to apply through an agent or broker.

How a new ADU fits in

A new detached ADU in a fire hazard severity zone is built to the California Wildland-Urban Interface Code. LA County's construction notes for that code list a Class A roof; vents listed to ASTM E2886 or covered with 1/16 to 1/8 in noncombustible, corrosion-resistant mesh; multi-pane windows with at least one tempered pane; protected eaves; and noncombustible gutters. Several of those match actions on the Safer from Wildfires list.

There is one point to check before you place the ADU. Safer from Wildfires lists ADUs among the outbuildings it asks owners to keep at least 30 ft from the home. State law lets a detached ADU sit as close as 4 ft to the side and back of the property, so on a smaller property it may sit closer than 30 ft to the main home. That is allowed, but it may mean the outbuildings action does not count for your home. Ask your insurer before you design.

The first 5 ft around the ADU matters too. Gravel or decomposed granite instead of bark, no plants against the walls and a metal section where a fence meets the building cover the ember-resistant zone action. They also match what the Board of Forestry's August 2026 draft Zone 0 rules describe. Those rules are not in effect; see the 5 ft rule.

Low-cost steps to start with

The Department of Insurance names three low-cost steps to start with: fine metal mesh over attic vents, clearing the first 5 ft of greenery and wood chips, and joining or starting a Firewise USA community. Each is on the discount list.

Check your home's fire zone first

Run the free fire check for your address. It shows the fire hazard zone, the fire department that inspects and the rules that apply. If you are planning an ADU, check the address to see where a detached ADU can go on the property and how far it would sit from the home. Our partners can quote fire-ready work on an existing home or a new ADU.